From ballgowns to budgets for beauty, all the things really is greater in Dallas — as artist and artistic director Donald Robertson can attest to.

The onetime Recent Yorker moved his family from Los Angeles to Dallas in the course of the pandemic, after falling in love with the town during store events at Forty Five Ten, the concept store in the town’s tony Highland Park neighborhood.

“No person knows about Dallas or Highland Park because there’s no tourism,” he said. “Once we moved here, someone told my wife, you’ll need two ballgowns a season. That was a quote. And sure enough, she had to purchase two ballgowns for the season because they’ve so many events and fundraisers. People really do get decked out.”

The third-largest city within the state with a population of greater than 6.5 million people within the greater Dallas-Forth Value metro area is a hotbed of activity for luxury-loving consumers. In line with Circana, prestige beauty sales in Dallas are growing 17 percent, faster than the remainder of the U.S. Also, Dallas is the fourth-largest U.S. market inside prestige beauty, generating $814 million in retail sales in 2022. 

So what’s driving the sweetness boom? 

It’s the influx of recent residents as a consequence of the pandemic, the glamourization and renovations of malls and shopping centers, and a reason to exit again with social happenings and events throughout the town.

“The Dallas luxe beauty boom (and all other things luxe) has been driven by, for one, the oil boom (that’s, the upper price of oil),” says Wendy Liebmann, founder and chief executive officer of WSL Strategic Retail, noting which means extra money in the town and the market.

“Second, several high-end malls, specifically Northpark and Highland Park Village, have been renovated, remixed, and seriously glamorized,” she continues. “Recent luxury fashion brands, like Dior, which replaced Ralph Lauren at Highland Park, have driven sales of more luxe all the things, including beauty. And, after all, because the world has opened up, the well-dressed have had more occasions to decorate up and exit.”

Northpark Mall, which houses Neiman Marcus, and Highland Park Village, the house to boutiques like Bluemercury, Dr. Barbara Sturm, and Le Labo, in addition to designer shops like Chanel and Hèrmes, and a membership-only social club called Parkhouse, is bustling like never before. And as a consequence of these store attractions and the influx of recent residents, parking has change into gruesome.

“Dallas women take a lot pride of their routines,” says Dallas resident and cofounder of UBeauty, Tina Chen Craig. “I remember after I learned that Dallas sells more luxury skincare per square foot than anywhere else within the country. The ladies are very well-versed in beauty products and don’t just go for the name brand. They need something that shows results.

“Dallas individuals are very loyal,” she adds. “They appear things up, study it, and so they’re not only blindly following trends. Dallas is a top-three marketplace for us and it’s not simply because I live here.”

Take Nancy Carlson, a partner at Dallas-based Carlson Capital LP, and an avid proponent of discovering latest brands. “If Joanna Czech recommends something latest or I examine something latest, I’ll definitely try it,” she said. “If something within the stratosphere makes a difference that’s going to be effective, and make my skin look higher, then I’m probably going to be OK with the worth.”

It’s an attitude that’s driven demand for luxe lines like RéVive, whose top-sellers include a $60 lip balm, a $600 volumizing serum, and the $1,500 Peau Magnifique, a four-week treatment regimen which is alleged to duplicate the results of more invasive cosmetic procedures. Recently, the brand held a pop-up at Northpark Mall in Neiman Marcus. The space was parked searching toward the mall with a big installation shoppers couldn’t miss. Throughout the pop-up, the brand saw a 220 percent increase in revenue, had 245 customers in the course of the two weeks, and performed 112 express services.

“Dallas looks like an actual renaissance for luxury,” says Elana Drell Szyfer, chief executive officer of RéVive. “What we learned concerning the Dallas luxury skincare customer is that 80 percent of them are buying product, but they’re also getting some sort of service.” 

RéVive used to only have a big East and West Coast concentration where they did business. But now most of its accounts, including Neiman Marcus, its heritage account, Bluemercury and Cos Bar, are number-one doors in Dallas for the brand. 

To that end, events are incredibly necessary to the Dallas consumer. There’s a certain flakiness that will be had on the East and West coasts, but in Dallas, the shopper at all times shows up. Jamie O’Banion, Dallas-based CEO and founding father of BeautyBio, shared an example of a Nordstrom event where the brand transformed your complete handbag section and built an immersive BeautyBio space.

“The Dallas customer loves the high-touch experience,” she says. “It really works well for us as a brand. You possibly can get a facial at a spa at our same retailer after which take our tools home.” 

Drell Szyfer adds there’s a rustic club culture in Dallas, which provides a concentrated customer opportunity, and a variety of brands will do private events at these spaces to draw latest consumers.

That said, retailers also see the importance of events in Dallas and partner with brands to create intentional experiences. For instance, the Bluemercury Dallas location is the retailer’s top event store with a clientele willing to sit down down and be educated by the experts in-store.

“The one who lives in Dallas is usually educated on skincare treatments and cosmetic surgery,” says Dallas resident Leigh Quilhot, senior director of merchandising at Bluemercury. “They’ve an ideal relationship with their dermatologist, so in skincare or hair care, for instance, they’re very engaged with products that stretch and amplify treatments.” 

Bluemercury’s events run the gamut from makeovers with Chantecaille to skincare events with Augustinus Bader, and hairstyling with Dyson. “We’ve sold more Air Wraps at our Dallas location than every other location,” Quilhot adds, of the $599.99 hair tool. 

Meanwhile, in the course of the pandemic, an onslaught of industry beauty folk migrated from Recent York and Los Angeles to Dallas.

“Now that I’ve moved here, I’ve learned Dallas is the best-kept secret in America,” says David Olsen, managing director of Highlander Partners and CEO of RMS Beauty. “It’s a neater place to live in comparison with Recent York City or L.A. Likely, a variety of brands are here because there are the non-sexy beauty things happening in Dallas and Texas. For instance, There’s FusionPKG packaging, which has been here a protracted time and is utilized by lots of of top brands. There’s also manufacturing and 3PLs [third-party logistics] throughout Texas. So for businesses that want more centralization of operations and potential margin improvements, Dallas is more business-friendly.”

Adwoa Beauty founder and CEO Julian Addo agrees. “From a business standpoint, it’s a significant city, and it moves like a significant city, however it’s not as expensive,” she says. “We’re situated downtown; we’ve got two spaces overlooking the skyline of downtown Dallas. I’d probably not have the opportunity to do that in NYC or L.A., especially after we first began. So Dallas is cost-effective regardless that it’s gone up quite a bit. There’s no state income tax and it’s an ideal place to do business because we are able to get our shipments anywhere within the U.S. in two to a few days.”

Jack Black, which was born and bred in Dallas in 2000 and bought by Edgewell Personal Care in 2018, is the official men’s skincare brand of the Dallas Cowboys, in order that they invest quite a bit in local partnerships. “Lots of firms are moving here,” says Gabi DeLatin, head of promoting at Edgewell Personal Care. “We’re also seeing just north of Dallas, a variety of firms moving to Frisco. So beauty firms have a variety of space to construct and plant their headquarters.”

And while the Dallas customer is extremely invested in skincare, makeup and hair care, there’s a variety of growth potential in wellness, regardless that wellness culture is minimal when one compares Dallas to Recent York and Los Angeles.

“Clients ask me what functional medicine doctors I like to recommend in Dallas,” says Joanna Czech, facialist, founding father of her eponymous skincare brand, and owner of Joanna Czech Studio in Dallas and Recent York City. “They ask me about health and wellness, and, truthfully, we don’t have enough yet here in Dallas. There are lots of amazing plastic surgeons in Dallas and ladies from other parts of the world travel for it specifically.” 

Bluemercury can be seeing the rise of wellness in its Dallas location. Last yr, the retailer launched The Cache, its emerging brands platform that features firms with limited distribution which might be identified as ones to observe.

“The Cache in Dallas is our top store for those brands,” says Quilhot. “The Dallas customer doesn’t just want the brand that everybody else is purchasing. We’ve seen a requirement for items like Higher Dose sauna blankets, which is pretty area of interest. Things like beauty tools and supplements require someone to be really engaged and knowledgeable about beauty, which speaks to the extent of awareness of that consumer.”

Speaking of awareness, the Dallas customer’s style and look has modified previously few years. “The rationale why people come to see me is because we’re all about looking natural in my practice,” says Dallas-based dermatologist Flora Kim. “That trend is becoming far more dominant in Dallas. Before, it was about exaggerating your features, but there’s a latest appreciation that beauty isn’t confined to at least one particular look.”

Throughout the pandemic, L.A.-based celebrity makeup artist Kira Nasrat relocated to Dallas and has fully embraced the scene. “People in Dallas love to place effort into their appearance,” she says. “They at all times have on a fantastic face. Their hair is perfectly volumized and done. They at all times have a manicure and a pedicure. They’re going to their local Sephora, Bluemercury, Neiman Marcus and for his or her Dr. Barbara Sturm facial.”

And speaking of Neiman Marcus, the Dallas-based retailer was founded in 1907 and has 4 stores across the Dallas-Fort Value area. “DFW continues to be a key marketplace for our business,” says Tatiana Birkelund, vice chairman and general manager of beauty and jewellery at Neiman Marcus. “We see a variety of excitement and interest in fragrance. Also, the personalized experience is as necessary because the products themselves, as our customers wish to feel they’re at the middle of the method.”

Circana reports that much like the whole U.S., in Dallas, higher-end products are outpacing the general prestige beauty market. That is driven particularly by consumers who’re increasingly choosing higher-priced luxury fragrance brands and premium hair products. In fragrance, artisanal brands, which generally command the next price point, have a greater presence in Dallas and are also outperforming the remaining U.S.

Top European designer brands, which also are likely to have an above-average price point, are growing in Dallas at a faster rate than the remaining U.S. And growth rates in Dallas are stronger than the remaining market in makeup and skincare, with specific strength in the luxurious sector.

“The Dallas consumer is searching for essentially the most efficacious skincare possible,” says Dallas-based Kelly St. John, founding father of KSJ Collective. “She’s not as concerned with hyper-clean. Even though it’s at all times shocking to me how many individuals don’t find out about Credo or Detox Market. But Dallas isn’t driven as much by that. They wish to be educated, but at the tip of the day, they need a product that’s of the best standards from a technology perspective.”

Cos Bar has seen that sort of appreciation for luxury beauty, too. “Our Dallas location is a top door for us,” says Oliver Garfield, CEO of Cos Bar. “We opened Dallas at the tip of 2018 and in yr one, it was the very best store we’ve ever opened by way of volume. It’s been like a rocket ship ever since. The Dallas customer doesn’t often ask how much something costs. It doesn’t mean they don’t care about value, but they’re about discovery across all categories.”